Simply bending down to pick up a box off the porch, carrying a child, or sitting at a desk calls into action what our bodies are meant to do. Yet we often do those moves incorrectly, resulting in injuries, aches, pains and bad posture. Husband and wife trainers, Chad and Esther Pinther are out to make sure people are moving correctly, so they can remain agile as they age.

The couple opened Reckoning Fitness in the early Fall in their Stapleton garage at 2615 Elmira. Training only 1-2 people at a time, the Pinthers refer to their clients as “athletes.” “Truly, all of us are athletes but we haven’t discovered it yet,” explains Chad. “I’m not talking about winning competitions but we are all built to move. Most of our athletes are brand new and have never done anything. They just said, ‘Today’s the day I’m going to make a change.’”

Chad Pinther working out.

Esther and Chad made the change to open the business after meeting on Instagram, drawn by their mutual passion for fitness. Both CrossFit Level 1 trainers, Esther was on the West Coast, and Chad was on the East Coast. Chad had lived in Denver before and had visited a friend living in Stapleton. Moving back to Denver and Stapleton, specifically, was his goal. Chad asked Esther to move here too and they married a month after opening the business. “I loved what I did in California but wanted to start my own business,” says Esther. “We started talking and thought the two of us combined would make a good team so we opened our own gym right in our community.”

Chad describes the CrossFit training they provide as constantly varying functional movements, completed at high intensity. “We do a ton of different things including weight lifting, gymnastics, biking, running, carrying heavy loads over short distances and vice versa. There’s never a day you come into our gym where you’re going to be bored,” he says.

The “functional movement” element of Pinther’s definition is an essential part of their work. “We teach people how to move correctly so they can literally be strong and active well into their 90’s,” says Chad. He adds that people are met at the physical ability levels they’re at, making sure their form is correct and that they aren’t pushed beyond their limits.

The couple has a goal of opening a larger facility but they’ll keep the small trainer/athlete ratio. “It’s a community,” says Esther. “We’re all here, working out together, rooting for each other.”